Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Reviews by basica:

A - Pours an opaque dark brown black into my Samuel Adams Globe pint glass with a thick rocky layer of foam that gradually reduces to a finger-thick tan head; not really typical of most stouts I've seen which spot creamy/milky heads (4)

S - The nose is roasted malts with quite a bit of hop aroma, notes of coffee and ever so slightly sweet. (3.5)

T - Upfront notes of coffee and cocoa with a certain citrus fruitiness that's typical in American ales; the usual roasted malts were revealed in the middle, lasting towards the finish where it meets a moderately bitter hop flavor. Interesting for the style and seems to me like a cross between an American ale and a Irish dry stout. (4)

360ml bottle, weird abstract bridging of Ireland and England map imagery on the label, and nothing beyond the name in English (or Irish, for that matter).

This beer pours a very dark reddish brown hue, with two fingers of foamy, puffy pale beige head, which leaves some rare random chunks of lace around the glass as it slowly settles. It smells of straightforward toasted dry malt and day-old coffee. The taste is dry chocolate, more bitter stale, sour coffee, and some earthy, leafy hops. The carbonation is average, if maybe a bit on the low side, the body light, but not thin, and smooth enough. It finishes quite dry, the malt having given up the sweetness jig, over to a multifaceted earthy bitterness.

Hits most of the right notes for the style, however personally it doesn't thrill me the way other variations of stouts do, just too dry for my tastes. Worth checking out all the same if the chance arises. (681 characters)

Purchased Baird's Stout in Tokyo, for 505yen ($4.28USD), no date on the bottle.

This one poured out a good stout appearance, with a creamy brown head and a really dark, black bottom. The head was thick and inviting, foam sparkled and maintained itself well.

Sweet, malty aroma, fruity like berries, with a touch of roasted coffee beans. Little hints of chocolate, too, but overall I felt the aroma was a little weak in tone.

Strong roasted malt character with a twang of hop bitterness, but really light and pale in the mouth with a watery body. No creamy mouthfeel, which was somewhat disappointing, but it was overall enjoyable. Also, some coffee and chocolate notes contained in the taste.

An interesting beer, but I'm not so sure how definitive it is as a Stout. Clean, pure and watery finish wasn't quite what I had hoped for, as I was expecting something a little more milky/creamy/smooth. Still, not a bad Baird brew and certainly enjoyable and drinkable. (975 characters)

Appearance is dark brown to black as anticipated. Good head at pour but disappates over time to almost nothing but some lacing left on the side of the glass. Smells of roasted coffee and othe mild malts. Somewhat watery mouthfeel but not bad. Flavor is good - coffe again with some added smokiness. (298 characters)

Nice persistent brownish head, very dense and creamy. The body is of a great black color. The smell is grat: sweet red fruits, let's say strawberries, and some powdered mild chocolate. Very fresh, maybe a hint of citrus. Nice sweet red fruits flavor, quickly overwhelmed by a crazy dark chocolate taste that dominates the palate. Some roasted coffee. The mouthfeel is bitter, and I found it a bit watery, which was suprizing. Not very thick. Weird for a stout. Still decent, I guess. (483 characters)

Appearance: bottle into pint. Poured nice cookie looking head which is thining out but kinda staying up there for a while. Black, only some tiny highlights at the bottom. Lotta tiny carbonation bubbles. foamy head.Smell: burn smell, think I might be getting a little bit of hop it there to. I almost wanna say burn chocolate powdery smell, dry

Taste: Im tasting what one would expect in a stout, burt malts, little bit stringent, definately got that dry taste going on. Some coffee chocolate going around in there. Its got a good balancing amount of hops as well. Also got a little sweet astringency somewhere in there.Finish is light roast, with some hops, fairly quick finish, although the dryness hangs around for a while.

Mouthfeel:Not as heavy as I might expect, but it has some heft and stickiness to it for sure.

An average stout, very similar to Guinness or Murphy's but with less body. Not much else to say about it, although I will comment that I have a hard time telling most dry stouts apart. A decent palate cleanser between more interesting beers. (290 characters)

Phat two cm. head moops around over this heavy, heavy-looking black ooze. Head's light brown with a tight consistency. Thick, uneven lacing. Smell is similar in excellence and potency to the other Baird beers I've tried: ripe strawberries, black cherry syrup, vanilla extract, high cacao content chocolate, charred elements, and some earthy hops.

Taste is similar to that of the porter: light fruits within a watery body flow down the throat quickly and leave behind charcoal elements and baking chocolate. Vanilla extract fruitiness returns once again towards the end.

Smooth mouthfeel is creamier and thicker than the porter's, which I liked. Carbonation is once again low. I found this stout highly drinkable, due, I thought to the lightness of the fruit character that predominates over the bitterness. (812 characters)

Nice take on an Irish Dry Stout. Dark, near-black ruby with a lacy, coffee-and-cream head.

Coffee, roasted malts and hints of chocolate in the nose. Slightly sour. The sourness is more noticeable in the taste, but there's a good, dry stout character there with dark chocolate and light coffee flavours. Slightly lemony taste. A little bit too bitter for what it is.

Good body, a little thin but not too much. Carbonation is decent. A nice beer, a good way to end the night. (476 characters)

Deep brown with a nice but not so long-lived tan head. It has the same not-quite-light-not-quite-heavy mouthfeel as Guinness, and shares the same dry, very slightly acrid, taste, not really "roasty," but with hints of roasted malt. Light enough in to be drinkable in quantity, but there's definitely a good amount of flavor there too.

It's basically like Guinness but with a slightly fuller and more intense flavor (and I know people on BA love to hate on Guinness, but I think Guinness on tap is pretty good). Very drinkable, but not so interesting... a "backup" beer. (570 characters)

This brew pours a dark cola hue with decent carbonation that leaves behind a creamy two finger head and sporadic lacing,it has nice aromas of roasted coffee,dark chocolate and dark berries,it has a nice dry mouthfeel which is lightly bodied and well carbonated with tastes of mocha,dark coffee and dark plums which finishes very dry and a touch bitter,overall a nice dry stout that would revisit. (396 characters)

This claims to be an Irish-style dry stout, but I find this to be ridiculous. I think it is impossible to find a such a finely crafted rich flavored stout in Ireland. This is rapidly becoming my favorite Japanese brewery.

FROM THE WEBSITE:
This is the Baird version of the quintessential Irish beer style called Dry Stout. The pitch-black color and rich, roasty dryness belie the relatively low gravity and alcohol content of this stout. Japan and Ireland, both "island countries," now have one more thing in common -- great locally brewed dry stout!

At the Nakameguro Taproom, and described as a take on the Irsh Dry Stout. Hopefully its not as bad as Guinness.

Midnight black with a considerable tan head, good retention and lace. Aroma of slightly stale coffee grains, cream and chocolate. Good dry flavour, if 'dry' can be a flavour. Everything has a certain dustiness to it, and tasting the flavours is akin to viewing a scene through a light fog. Upfront there's a good dose of coffee and chocolate, but in behind I'm pleased to find a smoky peatiness adding complexity. Fairly full bodied and smooth, which only adds to the admirable nature of this brew. Its about as pleasant and sessionable a stout as you can hope for.

Brewer's description: "This is the Baird version of the quintessential Irish beer style called Dry Stout. The pitch-black color and rich, roasty dryness belie the relatively low gravity and alcohol content of this stout. Japan and Ireland, both "island countries," now have one more thing in common -- great locally brewed dry stout!" (1,014 characters)